So we left Harare today for Bulawayo, another area in Zim.  This is what they consider the cultural center of Zim, code for “this is where all the people that like hip hop live”.  Everyone keeps promising a crazy crowd tonight.

So the flight, the flight was interesting.  We went to the “domestic” gate of the airport, and when I say airport I mean small warehouse with two gates…ummm.. I mean two doors side by side that are supposed to be departure gates.  You check your luggage on a conveyor belt that goes about 20 feet to the outside, and if you rush, your luggage will still beat you to the plane.  How do I know?  I saw the guy bringing my suitcase on the plane.  How did I see that?  I had to walk on the taxi area to get on the crop duster posing as a commercial airliner.

» Read more: From Harare to Bulawayo

Alright first things first, there should be a retraction to the Zimbabwe post… This hotel isn’t better than the one in Mafikeng…apperances can be deceiving.  Let’s just say I’ve seen some interesting stuff, but more on that later.

 Also, I found out that the hotel makes you take the complimentary tea… when I say tea, I mean the brown water that comes out of the shower when you first turn it on.  I knew they said don’t drink the water… but man, I didn’t know that was the reason why.

We had a show in Harare last night.  Great Great Great Show!  A lot of officials from the Embassy showed up and actually stayed the whole night!!  We had a great, energetic crowd and I really think it was our best show yet.  All of the shows seem to get better the longer we are on the road!  Shouts out to Bongo Love, a group we met in Harare and asked them to open up for us and perform with us.  They rocked the house!! Much Respect!

 

 

So we made it to Zimbabwe today.  The flight is about an hour or so from Johannesburg to Harare.  This trip is interesting because every time we get ready to catch a flight, we have to get everything weighed and pay overage charges, which can be very expensive.  Luckily, everywhere we go they’ll be people from the embassy to help us negotiate.  Shouts out to Julius and Chris!!!  Goodbyes are never easy.  We had become really close to the team that was helping us in South Africa.  Life must continue though.  The crew here in Zimbabwe seems to be really nice and welcoming.  Thank God for good people.

» Read more: Zimbabwe

Doesn’t Mafikeng sound like some kind of curse word? Maybe it’s just me. Anyways!

This is my first time actually posting on the day that the events occurred.

We had a workshop and a show today. The workshop was great because it turned into a forum about hip hop music – what it is, the limits of what can be considered hip hop, opinions on which artists are hip hop and which are not. I loved the dialogue and the students had really great opinions and comments.

» Read more: Mafikeng Shows!!! – 12/04/06

We left Johannesburg and headed for Mafikeng. The ride there was unbelievable. There are incredible sights of Mountains and clouds and natural formations all throughout Africa. This is a beautiful place. The hills and valleys come to life through the trees and the smell of fresh air. I was surprised to see so much land preserving the natural beauty of Africa. Che and I had a conversation on how many years it would take to get a Wal Mart here… which typically means economic death in the name of commercialism. At any rate check out a couple of the pics I took during the ride:

» Read more: Catch Up Time: 12/03/06

One Word: Comedy

These are some pics from the week!

Arriving at Amsterdam’s Airport

» Read more: ThrowBack Pics

AFAR was able to participate in the festivities for the World Aids Day Celebration. They call it a celebration because they are celebrating life – Life in spite of HIV infections and Life through precautionary measures to prevent HIV infection. This trip has literally been a learning experience for me when it comes to AIDS. So many people can speak intelligently about the subject and it’s because the government does so very much to make sure that everyone is informed to make the appropriate decisions.

Our performance was at the Shivava Café in an area called Newtown, in Johannesburg. We knew this would be a special show because the people were getting into us at sound check. » Read more: Catch Up Time 12/01/06

Friday 12/01/06 was World Aids Day. Africa has a serious aids problem, although I often wonder if the difference between Africa and other countries is that they’re not afraid to talk about it? A lot of countries do a lot to hide social issues like this. Stats say that four to five million people have Aids here and out of a country of about 50 million people, that amounts to 1 in every 10 people with Aids. Stats also say that 40% of all new aids cases is in the age range 15-24. This means that a lot of people are being born and a lot of the older people are still living, but the people in the middle are dying. It is a blessing here if you are still alive and healthy between the age of about 35-50. I saw a commercial where a guy just wanted to live to see 35. I’m not sure of Life expectancy stats, but I’m sure it’s very low. Aids is so common here that when someone gets sick with a cold or from drinking too much, they joke that it’s from complications due to HIV. It’s seriously not a joke. I was even told that whenever there is an assault or accident involving someone else, the first thing you should do is go to a hospital and get tested for HIV, even before you call the police. That’s how serious it is here. When I get a chance I’m going to look up stats for the US. If you know any please comment on the blog.

Please everybody, take the measures necessary to protect yourself from Aids and HIV infection. If you don’t know what to do, ask someone. You can even ask me and I’ll post some info on the blog. Please take care of yourselves!